Rodrigue v. PTS Mgmt. Grp., LLC

• Decision Date: 26 July 2021
• Docket Number: CASE NO. 6:20-CV-00032
• Citation: 550 F.Supp.3d 376
• Parties: Henry RODRIGUE, Jr. v. PTS MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana

550 F.Supp.3d 376

Henry RODRIGUE, Jr.

v.PTS MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC

CASE NO. 6:20-CV-00032

United States District Court, W.D. Louisiana, Lafayette Division.

Signed July 26, 2021

G. Karl Bernard, Law Office of G. Karl Bernard, New Orleans, LA, for Henry Rodrigue, Jr.

Jeffrey A. Riggs, Lewis Brisbois et al., Lafayette, LA, William Scott Helfand, Pro Hac Vice, Lewis Brisbois et al., Houston, TX, for Berkshire Production Supply LLC.

MEMORANDUM RULING

ROBERT R. SUMMERHAYS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Pending before the court is a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Berkshire Production Supply Co. LLC f/k/a Production Tool Supply Co. LLC ("PTS"). [ECF No. 21] PTS seeks dismissal of all claims against it. PTS has also filed Objections to Plaintiff's Exhibits Submitted in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. [ECF No. 33] For the following reasons, PTS objections are SUSTAINED in part and OVERRULED in part. PTS’ summary judgment motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Rex Supply Company, a subsidiary of defendant PTS, hired Rodrigue as an outside sales consultant in March 2010. [ECF No. 29 at 6] Rex Supply sells tools and supplies to machine shops and Rodrigue was responsible for creating and maintaining customer accounts with machine shops throughout Southeast Louisiana. [Id. ] During most of Rodrigue's tenure at Rex Supply, Tom Wright was his supervisor. Wright started with PTS as a Vice President in 2010, and his duties included supervising outside sales consultants. [Id. at 6] Wright eventually was named President of Rex Supply. [ECF No. 29-2 at 9] Rodrigue's sexual harassment claim is based on two incidents involving Wright.

The first incident allegedly occurred in March 2013 at a company retreat in Lafayette, Louisiana. [ECF No. 29 at 7] Rodrigue and other retreat participants were staying at the Lafayette DoubleTree Hotel. [ECF No. 29-1 at 12] In his deposition, Rodrigue testified that Wright and a customer (Tim Newton) were sitting at the hotel bar. [Id. at 12] Wright called to Rodrigue as he was walking through the hotel lobby and asked him to join Wright and Newton for a drink at the bar. [Id. ] Rodrigue testified that he did not feel like drinking but replied that "I'm going to drink one and then I'm going to go up to my room." [Id. ] Rodrigue testified that, after he was served a drink, Wright stood up and kissed him on the right side of his face near his mouth. [Id. ] According to Rodrigue, the kiss "didn't quite touch my lip." [Id. at 16] Rodrigue testified that he turned around and the following exchange occurred:

But one thing he did say when he -- like when I turned around, what got me so irate, when he was standing up -- when I -- when I turned around from facing the wall to face him, he said, "There ain't nothing wrong with exploring your inner feelings sometimes," and that's when I -- I got angry. I gave him a look. Actually, my reaction was leaning back and that's why he kind of threw his hands up and said, "Oh, no, no, no," and he says, "We've been drinking all day, we played golf, we got to go." And I just watched them walk away.

[Id. at 13] (emphasis added). Rodrigue testified that "I remember saying to myself, ‘Man, did he just ruin my career.’ You know, I don't know how to explain it." [Id. ] Wright, on the other hand, denies that he ever kissed Rodrigue.¹ Rodrigue did not file a complaint or otherwise report this incident until after the second incident in 2018. [ECF No. 29 at 10] Rodrigue explained that he did not report the first incident to PTS’ human resources department out of fear that an HR complaint would adversely impact his career. [Id. at 8]

Rodrigue testified that there were no further incidents of sexual harassment—verbal or physical—by Wright until 2018. [ECF No. 29-1 at 13-14] Rodrigue continued to work under Wright's supervision after the 2013 incident and, from 2013 to 2018, Rodrigue testified that he excelled as a PTS salesperson and received positive performance reviews. [ECF No. 29-4 at 1-3] He asserts that Wright interrupted a group meeting at a sales seminar to recognize Rodrigue's accomplishments during 2017. [Id. ] Rodrigue further testified that Wright promised him a "six-figure salary" if Rodrigue could close a major sale with Hunting Energy Services, Inc. in New Iberia ("Hunting New Iberia"). [Id. ] Rodrigue asserts that he "regularly outperformed many of [his] colleagues" for eight years and that, in light of his performance and to retain him, PTS modified his pay structure to a "guaranteed commission and an additional commission" in addition to salary. [ECF No. 29-4 at 1]

The second incident involving Wright occurred at a company retreat in March 2018 at the bar of the same hotel (the Lafayette DoubleTree Hotel) where the 2013 incident occurred. Rodrigue testified that he was "sitting in the lobby with Carl Murray, Jonathan Banks, a couple of guys—one guy from Kosto Steel and two guys from Lenox Bank Saw companies." [ECF No. 29-1 at 14] Wright was also present and, according to Rodrigue, Wright "could barely talk, barely walk he was so drunk." [Id. ] Rodrigue explained that he was not feeling well because he had food lodged in his esophagus. [Id. ] He decided to order a shot of alcohol from the bar to see if that would help. [Id. ] Rodrigue then informed the group that he was "still hurting" and "may have to leave if this keeps hurting." [Id. ] At this point, Rodrigue's summary judgment declaration and his deposition testimony characterize the ensuing incident differently. Rodrigue states in his declaration that "[w]hen I got up to leave, without consent, Mr. Wright entered my personal space and kissed me on both cheeks to say goodbye." [ECF No. 29-4 at ¶ 27] Rodrigue then left the bar area, and before he could "fully depart the hotel lobby, Mr. Wright forced himself in front of [Rodrigue] and stated, ‘It's all good’ and kissed [him] directly in the area of [his] mouth." [Id. at ¶ 30] Rodrigue's deposition testimony appears to describe only one kiss and a response by Wright when Rodrigue stated that he could not go out to dinner with the group:

[E]verybody turned away to leave except Tom Wright, he came back towards me. And he shook my hand with his right hand, he says, "That's all right, Beaver. It's all good," and he jumped up and kissed me on the mouth, on the right side time , and I just -- I jerked back, put my head down, and boy, he took off. And I look -- "Not again." Man, I just took off for the elevators and everything, you know. I was like "I got you," you know, "I got you on camera now."

[ECF No. 29-1 at 14] When asked to clarify the location of the kiss, Rodrigue testified that Wright touched the right corner of his mouth but it was not "a full frontal lip lock—kiss ... on the lips." [Id. at 16] Rodrigue then left the lobby and there are no allegations or evidence of any further harassment—physical or verbal—by Wright toward Rodrigue.

As with the 2013 incident, Rodrigue did not immediately report Wright's March 2018 conduct to defendants PTS and Rex Supply, nor did he immediately file a formal complaint. Rodrigue testified that he secured a new agreement with Hunting New Iberia in April 2018. [ECF No. 29 at 9] On April 26, 2018, Rodrigue sent an e-mail to Wright and Mitch Bair (PTS’ Chief Executive Officer at the time) stating "[a]t the beginning of last year, you said [corporate] said that when [w]e got this agreement signed I would receive the [s]ix digit salary we always talked about." [ECF No. 21-8 at 2] At the time, Rodrigue's yearly earnings were approximately $66,000. [ECF No. 21 at 17] Wright responded to Rodrigue's e-mail, stating that "I did not promise you a six figure salary upon execution of the Hunting (New Iberia) vending contract or under any other parameters at any time or in any way." [ECF No. 21-9 at 2] Wright further added that Rodrigue's pay was "very much in line with the total sales and resulting gross profit the territory generates." [Id. ] But Wright also acknowledged Rodrigue's efforts:

We do appreciate the good and hard work you have done toward securing business with all the Hunting facilities and elsewhere in your territory. We do understand that your efforts were essential in securing the business at the plant in Houma, and subsequently in Houston and New Iberia.

[Id. ]

In June 2018, Rodrigue filed a formal complaint with PTS’ human resources department reporting the 2013 and 2018 incidents with Wright. [ECF No. 21 at 9] The e-mail Rodrigue sent to human resources alleged that he felt he was being treated unfairly and being retaliated against because he did not participate in Wright's sexual advances. [ECF No. 21-11 at 3] He also mentioned a phone call he received from Wright to discuss the e-mail exchange about Rodrigue's request for a raise. [Id. ] The e-mailed complaint asserted sexual harassment and retaliation but did not explicitly seek an increase in Rodrigue's salary. [Id. ]

Heather Hancock, the Human Resources Manager of Berkshire Production Supply LLC, investigated Rodrigue's complaint. [ECF No. 21-7 at 2] She spoke to Rodrigue about his alleged encounter with Wright and discussed his claim that he had been promised a "six-figure salary." [Id. ] Wright was also replaced as Rodrigue's supervisor by another corporate officer, Dave Conger. [Id. at 5] As part of her investigation, Hancock reviewed Rodrigue's performance, his compensation relative to his performance, and compared these numbers to those of other PTS salespeople.² [Id. at 3-5] Hancock interviewed Rodrigue, Wright, and two other PTS employees who were present at the 2018 retreat, and allegedly found no evidence to corroborate Rodrigue's allegation that Wright sexually harassed him at the retreat. [Id. at 5] Hancock and Mitch Bair met with Rodrigue to discuss the results of her investigation, including her conclusion that Rodrigue's pay was more than he would have received under a traditional commission structure. [Id....